The present invention relates to methods and assemblies for validating adhesive bond lines.
Modular components can be bonded together using adhesives. For instance, gas turbine engines can utilize modular components made of composite materials that are bonded together using adhesives, which can be removable adhesives in order to facilitate replacement or repair of the modular components. Many adhesives are cured through the application of temperature and/or pressure. The quality of a bond line formed by adhering components together often must be validated, such as during the configuration of manufacturing facilities and techniques for production as well as for quality control or diagnostic purposes later. These validations help ensure that adhesive bond lines will perform as desired.
Validation of adhesive bond lines can be performed using destructive testing. Destruction of the adhered parts is often necessary, because the adhesive bond line may not be sufficiently exposed to permit evaluation. However, destructive testing is often undesirable, because modular components are often expensive and scarce. For example, during the design phases prior full production of a given modular assembly, prototype or test components may be difficult to procure, or otherwise unavailable within a suitable time frame for destructive testing to be feasible.
Moreover, test equipment that can survive high temperature adhesive curing conditions may be expensive, or unavailable. For example, pressure sensitive films are also known for allowing optical analysis of pressure distributions. However, these films are generally not suitable for use at elevated temperatures, and therefore are not helpful for evaluating bond lines with adhesives cured at elevated temperatures.
Thus, an alternative validation method and apparatus is desired.